(March 2010) Hong Kong linguist, Eugene S. L. Chan, recently conducted a two-week visit of SIL International’s offices in Dallas, Texas. An expert in number systems of the world, Chan, affiliated with the Max Planck Institute, met with SIL leadership and various SIL linguists who have contributed to his research over the past 30 years by sending him data about the languages in which they have worked.

In an invited lecture, Chan discussed his project to document the various number systems used by the world’s nearly 7,000 languages. Chan has documented number systems in more than 4,000 languages to date, finding systems in base 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 15 and 20, as well as mixed systems and body-part tally systems. Certain South American indigenous languages simply distinguish “one” from “many.”

Chan’s research focuses on transcriptions of little-known, under-described and endangered languages. His goal is to record and preserve the traditional counting systems before they disappear. Data for the remaining 3,000 languages, however, is difficult to obtain. Chan makes the results of his research freely available on his website and is always eager to receive data about languages not yet recorded.

Due to rapid globalization, an indigenous number system can be even more endangered than the rest of the language even if the language itself is not endangered. In language communities around the world, counting in the minority language is the domain of older members, while the younger ones prefer to express numbers in a dominant language.

The traditional number systems of many small languages are rapidly being displaced by those of dominant languages. Even though numbers interact with the rest of grammar and may have unique morphosyntactic rules, many published grammar studies fail to describe them. Therefore, it is urgent to document this important linguistic data before it is completely forgotten.

This is a re-post from SIL International.

Banner for International Mother Language Day 2010, UNESCO

(21 February 2010) During the eleventh annual observance of International Mother Language Day, SIL representatives participated in celebrations in the Philippines, at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC and at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. International Mother Language Day provides an opportunity to recognize linguistic diversity and the importance of multilingual education. It originated as an international counterpart to Bangladesh’s Language Martyrs’ Day, which was established in 1952.

In her message for International Mother Language Day, Director-General of UNESCO Ms. Irina Bokova, said, “Languages are the best vehicles of mutual understanding and tolerance. Respect for all languages is a key factor for ensuring peaceful coexistence, without exclusion, of societies and all of their members.”

Dr Paul Frank's address at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, D.C., 21 Feb 2010

Dr. Paul Frank, Director of SIL International Relations, addressed those gathered 21 February at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC: “Bangladesh provided the original inspiration for this annual worldwide observance. Bangladesh has celebrated this day as Language Martyrs’ Day since 1952, when many people marched to defend the right to use their Bangla language. And some people—the language martyrs—gave their lives for this cause.
We are indebted to the people of Bangladesh for providing an example for all of us to follow.”

Banner for 21 February 2010 gathering at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Frank also mentioned, “According to SIL International’s Ethnologue, some 3,500 of the world’s 6,909 languages are each spoken by fewer than 10,000 people. That is not very many people to maintain a unique heritage! We could easily be discouraged by such statistics, but we should not be. Instead, may such facts serve as a call to action. Languages need not be lost. For languages to remain a viable means of cultural expression, two things are needed: 1. communities need the capabilities, assistance and encouragement to develop their languages, and 2. they need a supportive environment for that language development.”

In the Philippines, where SIL co-sponsored the First Philippine Conference-Workshop on Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education, held 18–20 February, the schedule included a Cultural Night and Celebration of International Mother Language Day.

As part of the day’s events on 22–23 February, UNESCO in Paris is organizing an International Symposium on Translation and Cultural Mediation. Dave Pearson, Barbara Trudell, Agatha van Ginkel, Bill Bremmer and Maik Gibson are representing SIL at the Paris event.

This is a re-post from SIL International.